The double
horn in F and B-flat designed by C.F. Schmidt of
Berlin and Weimar was very popular among professional
players in the first half of the twentieth century and
continues to be used in several major U.S. Orchestras.
The player pictured above is believed to be Luigi
(Louis) Ricci , who was a member of the New York
Philharmonic from 1917 to 1962. He is playing a C.F.
Schmidt double horn in F and B-flat which was imported
to the United States and Canada exclusively by Carl
Fischer, Inc. New York, NY. The photo is from a Carl
Fischer instrument catalog. C.F. Schmidt introduced his
double horn in 1900 with its peculiar piston thumb valve
for the change from F to B-flat.1

Among the early proponents of this horn was Willem A.
Valkenier, principal horn of the Boston Symphony from
1923 to 1953. Mr. Valkenier was born in Rotterdam,
Netherlands in 1887 and studied horn with Adolph Preus.
In his biography of Mr. Valkenier, Milan Yancich states:

It was through Preus that he became
connected with C.F. Schmidt, the Berlin horn maker.
During his Berlin years, Valkenier became
professionally and socially with Scmidt. Schmidt could
play the horn, but he did not play professionally. He
loved the horn. He was a man of who knew his metals.
Valkenier said "He was a man of iron will and his
first love was the horn." When I asked him whether the
piston B-flat valve was his invention he thought that
it was, but he was not sure. Once he asked Schmidt to
change something in his model and Schmidt refused. He
declared "My model is the best." 2

Yancich continues with an anecdote about the great
Chicago horn maker, Carl Geyer:

Geyer told me that he believed the Schmidt
horn to be the best designed horn ever made. This
statement from a master horn maker, surprised me. He
felt that the curve of the lead pipe through the
B-flat valve was part of the reason for the Schmidt
horn's success. He also believed the Schmidt bells to
be superior to all other bells. In fact, every horn
that Geyer built for me had a Schmidt bell. While we
were on the subject of horns Mr. Valkenier told me
that for many years he played either a Schmidt or
Kruspe double horn; especially when he needed volume.3

Richard ("Dick") Mackey, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's
fourth horn player from 1973 to 2005, is another
proponent of the Schmidt double horn. Dick studied with
Mr. Valkenier at the New England Conservatory and for a
several years played in the Los Angeles studios with
studio legend, Vincent DeRosa. When the audition for the
Boston Symphony came up in 1972, "Vince advised Dick
that his Conn 8D would not fit in the BSO section, and
offered to sell Dick his mint-condition silver Schmidt.
The Schmidt has a smaller sound than the Conn, but a
sound that blends with the BSO section. Vince considered
the horn 'a treasure that I loved, but it went to the
right hands.'"4

The firm
of C.F. Schmidt was established in Berlin ca.
1880. In that year it was issued German patent #12814
for "improvements to brass instruments." By 1888 a
second workshop was opened in Weimar at Brennerstrasse
2c, and was later appointed Court maker to the Grand
Duchy of Weimar. In 1899 this workshop merged with the
main workshop in Berlin.5 Two different locations in
Berlin are indicated by the engraved labels found on the
bells of the horns. The earlier location (based on U.S.
importer Carl Fischer's serial numbers) was in the
south-western Berlin postal district served by Post
Office number 19 (S.W. 19). This is described
as the "old city post office I" (alte
Stadtpost-Expedition I) located at Sparwaldsbrücke,
Krausenstrasse, Beuthstrasse (probably near the
intersection of the latter two) in the Kreuzberg section
of the city. The second location was in the adjacent
Schöneberg section in the western district served by
"district post office" (Bestell-Postamt) W. 57 located
on Bülowstrasse. Both labels indicate the previous
location in Weimar. Clearly the Weimar shop was
re-opened later following the First World War since many
extant examples are engraved with Weimar as the place of
manufacture with no reference to Berlin. (See table,
below).

In a letter to Reginald
Morley-Pegge dated August 18, 1970, Dr. Dieter
Krickeberg of the Musikinstrumentenmuseum at the
Staatlicches Institute für Musicforschung, Berlin writes
the following chronology of the C.F. Schmidt locations:
"Schmidt resided 1880 at Berlin, before 1888 at
Badfriedrichroda, since 1888 at Weimar, 1912 at Berlin,
1926 at Weimar." This information is very helpful in
establishing the timeline of the census of known C.F.
Schmidt horns listed below.

As an aside, another firm by the name of C.F. Schmidt
was located in Heilbronn am Neckar, Germany. The SIBMAS
International
Directory of Performing Arts Collections and
Institutions gives the founding date of 1851 for
C.F. Schmidt-Verlag. References to the Antiquarisches
Verzeichniss ausgegeben von der J. D. Classischen
Buchhandlung published by C. F. Schmidt in
Heilbronn in 1858 and 1862 are found in Neuer
Anzeiger für Bibliographie und Bibliothekwissenschaft
by Dr. Julius Petzholdt. Heilbronn
city archives indicate that C. F. Schmidt
flourished as a music publisher (Musikalien) from 1870
to 1993. Indeed it was a very prolific publisher of
sheet music at the same time the Weimer/Berlin brass
instrument maker was producing the horns described here.
C.F. Schmidt Verlag (Heilbronn) published music for all
instruments including horn. Of particular interest to
horn players it included editions of the Kopprasch
etudes and the Hornschule of Josef Schantl. No
relationship between the two firms has been established,
however.

The Schmidt wrap was copied by several makers including
Rampone-Cazzani, August Knopf, Richard Wunderlich, Carl
Geyer, Lorenzo Sansone, Boston
Musical Instruments, and the original C.G. Conn 6-D. One perhaps
unique example of a model by Gebr.
Alexander is also known. It is said that
components for these, especially the valve assemblies,
were often made by C.F. Schmidt and imported to the U.S.
as parts to avoid import duties on completed
instruments. More recently the design has been used in
horns made by S.W. Lewis, Karl Hill (Kortesmaki), George
McCracken, and Yamaha model 863.

Single F horn listed on All
Brass Instruments. This is very
curious: The relatively low Carl Fischer
serial number is apparently out of
sequence given the wording of the label
and address in Berlin W. 57

F and f descant double, with a very
unusual lever linkage to the piston change
valve.

C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/früher/BERLIN

Stamped on the bell with "4523";
mercury dimes soldered to valve levers;
standing in B-flat; detachable bell is
silver plated inside; numerous patches;
some tubing has been replaced. Said to
have been played in N.Y. Philharmonic for
twenty years; possibly owned by Robert
Schulze and pictured in 1938
New York Philharmonic horn section.
Possibly brought to the U.S. by Mr. Shulze
when he came to the U.S. in 1911 at the
age of fourteen.

C.F. Schmidt/WEIMAR/früher/BERLIN

1922

nickel-silver, with original F and Bb
pistons and optional A/E tuning slide with
tap; provenance confirmed to original
purchase in Germany. Collection
of Louis Denaro

The label on this horn is
very ornately embellished with
scroll-work, not seen on other C.F.
Schmidt horns. In addition the serial
number is unusually high for the wording
of the label and there is no reference to
Carl Fischer as agent as on all other
horns with serial numbers. The word
"früher" is misspelled. The most troubling
engraving on the horn, however, is the
notation "Spezial Fur Prof. F.
Gumbert." This is rather amateurishly
written in cursive penmanship. The word
"für" is incorrectly capitalized and is
misspelled, missing the umlaut. Friedrich
Adolph Gumpert (1841 - 1906) was a famous
solo horn in the Gewandhaus Orchestra,
Leipzig, and teacher of many fine horn
players and was still living, although
retired, when the C.F Schmidt double horn
was invented in ca. 1900. Furthermore the
label Weimar früher Berlin does not seem
to fit the supposed location of the C.F.
Schmidt in that period. The horn was
sold on eBay in 2012 and was previously
owned by an amateur player who purchased
it from Giardinelli in New York in the
1960s. Prior provenance is unknown.

C F Schmidt/& Co./WEIMAR/

Purchased by Warren Dowdy in the mid
1990s from a band director in Brownsville,
Texas, now owned by his widow, Mrs. Hazel
Dowdy.

C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer New
York/Sole Agent of USA and Canada

31197

ca. 1923

Silvered detachable bell. Replacement
leadpipe, main tuning slide, evidence of
other work. Private Collection in
U.S.

C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer New
York/Sole Agent of USA and Canada

31384

Purchased used about 1961 from a player
in a San Diego professional marching and
concert band who was retiring.

Currently in Cleveland, OH; Purchased
ca. 2001 from a public school teacher who
purchased it in New York in the 1950s.
Generally good playing condition, great
sound, solid high register.

C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Germany/Carl
Fischer New York/Sole Agent of U.S.A. and
Canada/32652

32652

This horn was originally owned by Jerry
(Jaroslav) Knopp, formerly with the
Baltimore Symphony, Chicago Civic Opera,
and a member of the All American Youth
Orchestra that Leopold Stokowski took to
South America in 1940. It was sold in 1960
to the present owner, Mr. Bruce Kovacs

This is one of those lucky
finds that players and collectors only
dream about. It was found in an antique
shop in Maine on June 16, 2012, and
purchased for $175. The horn is in
excellent condition, plays very well, and
came complete with original case, F and
E-flat tuning slides, and E/A crook with
quick change tap. The label is unusually
engraved with "Germany" written twice.

The Tariff Act of 1930
(P.L. 71-361) was an act, sponsored
by United States Senator Reed Smoot
and Representative Willis C. Hawley,
and signed into law on June 17, 1930
imposing tariffs on goods imported
into the United States. Among its
provisions is the requirement that
imported goods must be conspicuously
and indelibly marked in English to
indicate to the ultimate purchaser
the country of origin. So, it seems
reasonable to presume that C.F.
Schmidt horns marked "Made in
Germany" were imported for sale in
the U.S. in or after 1930.

C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer New
York/Sole Agent of USA and
Canada /Made in Germany

33561 ?

Nickel (or probably silver) plated over
brass; listed on eBay 7/20/08 for $3800 in
Tuscaloosa, AL, but no bids. Estimated by
seller to date from ca. 1914

C.F. Schmidt, Weimar, Carl Fischer New
York, Sole agent of USA and Canada, Made
in Germany

38290

Purchased in 1969 from John Lounsbery
of the Milwaukee Symphony, for $400. Used
as primary horn until 2008. Estimated by
John Barrows to date from 1920, however
S/N would indicate later. Overhauled in
1973 by Jerry Lechniuk (Chicago) and bell
silver plated by Anderson Silverplating
(Elkhart).

C.F. Schmidt/& Co./WEIMAR/Cont.
Music Co. New York/Agent of USA and
Canada/Made in Cermany[sic]/41059

41059

Continental Music Co. was a subsidiary
of C.G. Conn. Ca. 1930, Conn purchased
much of the musical instrument stock of
Carl Fischer. Bell exhibits unusually
ornate engraving. Several modifications.
Offered for sale in St. Louis,
3/31/10

* Serial
numbers were added by Carl Fischer. In
response to an inquiry about archives a
spokesperson for Carl Fischer, Inc. has
replied: "Our instrument division closed
decades ago and we no longer have
records."

**Dates are estimates or
guesses usually made by recent owners and
should not be taken to be accurate. In
some cases where early provenance is known
dates given may be more certain. Horns are
listed by wording of the C.F. Schmidt
label which are believed to be in
chronological order.